Oh SNAPP, Terry makes it RAIN with $1.5M in FedNor funding

An almost $1-million investment by the federal government in support of agriculture projects in the Algoma region is helping local farmers like Marty and Melanie Lemieux.

The couple, who have operated Valleyfield Farm in the Sylvan Valley near Echo Bay since 2009, accessed previous funding to purchase a greenhouse, which allows the farm to extend its growing season.

“July and August are the only two months on record with no snow. Season extension was major for us,” said Marty.

The greenhouse, which was purchased with the assistance of a micro-grant from the Sustainable Northern Agri-Food Products and Productivity Program (SNAPP), gave the Lemieuxs an extra six weeks of growing before and after the traditional season.

Today’s announcement of $921,300, provided by FedNor, triple’s SNAPP’s original funding and moves it out of the pilot project stage, said David Thompson, project Co-ordinator for the Rural Agri-Food Innovation Network (RAIN).

The project’s initial $290,000 pilot project funding supported 46 applicants, said Thompson.

“We had a number of new products, including chickpeas, canola oil, frozen strawberry yogurt, blueberry barbecue sauce, maple sugar chips, ponchos made from alpaca fibre, quinoa seeds, gourmet ice cream — we had a number of unique value-added products,” said Thompson.

Both RAIN and SNAPP are operated under the auspices of the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre.

In addition to the SNAPP funding, RAIN will receive $167,672 and the Innovation Centre receives $400,000 toward Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects in the region.

Don McLennan, acting executive director for the Innovation Centre, said the funding for ICT will go toward hiring an ICT co-ordinator, outreach and workshops.

“A big part of ICT is the outreach and workshops. We provide workshops to small and medium enterprises that want to attend the many different topics relating to ICT,” said McLennan.

The $400,000 funding will expand a two-year pilot project operated by the Innovation Centre, said McLennan.

MP Terry Sheehan made the announcements this morning at the Innovation Centre on the Algoma University campus.

Sheehan said a recent visit to the city by Navdeep Baines, minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development, helped bring funding for agriculture projects in Sault Ste. Marie and area to the forefront.

“I had to explain in detail to a lot of people, so they could wrap their head around it. In particular the folks down in Toronto working for the government and in Ottawa said, ‘You have agriculture up there?’ and I said, ‘Of course we do,’” said Sheehan.

Challenges experienced by farmers like the Lemieuxs highlight the importance of funding agriculture projects in the region, said Sheehan.

He said the agriculture funding also helps diversify the local economy.

The Lemieuxs plan on applying again to the program to expand their cold storage capabilities on the farm.

Applicants to the SNAPP program can receive up to $5,000 toward equipment, enhancing productivity or new food or fibre products.

“When you look at what RAIN is doing and what SNAPP grants allow, it allows a lot of us to deal with infrastructure deficits,” said Marty.